Assemblies adapted for holding and supporting one or more beverage containers integrated within automobiles, theaters, stadiums and other seating areas for the occupant's convenience are generally referred to as cup holders.
Readily accessible and plentiful cup holders are desired by users of vehicles and other seating environments such as theaters and stadiums. In some locations, such as the rear seats of a vehicle passenger compartment, the potential locations for placing a conventional cup holder have been very limited due to the absence of horizontal surfaces and the lack of depth behind the available vertical surfaces, such as the trim surface of a vehicle side door or the back surface of the front passenger seats or console. Due to the limited area and the potential interference of a cup holder with a passenger's movements into or out of their seat, especially in the case of a rear seat passenger, it is also desirable to make the cup holder stowable into the door panel or other vertical surface.
Many prior attempts to package cup holders in these locations have produced flimsy designs which lack structural integrity, are difficult to use and are difficult to clean. It would be desirable to provide a cup holder that efficiently uses the limited packaging space available, has good mechanical strength, and is removable for cleaning.
When traveling in a motor vehicle, whether it is a short cross town commute or a trip of a longer duration, the occupants of a vehicle often find it enjoyable to consume a beverage while in route. For example, morning commuters often carry with them a hot beverage from the house or a convenient drive-thru service. At other times, the beverage may be contained in a bottle or can. In all of these situations, while the vehicle is moving the container can be easily upset if it is placed on the dash, floor, seat or center console. For obvious reasons, it is desirable to provide a stable support or holder for beverage containers when they are used in a vehicle.
Over the years, a number of devices have been developed to prevent a beverage container from spilling its contents within the vehicle. One such device is known as a travel mug. Travel mugs typically are available in two varieties, one which has a narrow opening and a wide base and another which includes a lid and sometimes a flanged bottom portion which can be slid into a base mounted on the dash or center console of the vehicle. Both of these mechanisms have limitations in that they require the use of a dedicated container, exclusive of other containers. Since the travel mug must always be present in the vehicle to reap its benefits, such other beverage containers can be inconvenient.
Another direction in which designers have evolved has been to develop “generic” cup holders which can receive and support numerous types, styles and sizes of beverage containers. One of the first of such cup holders was a one-piece plastic “hanger” which included a downwardly extending tab that, during use, was positioned so as to extend into the window opening generally between the glass of the window and the interior of the door. These cup holders were rigid structures and of limited use because they were bulky, easily broken, and sometimes interfered with turning the steering wheel or opening the door of certain vehicles. Cup holders have also been seen which fold down and generally operate as a tray on which the container can be placed.
Notwithstanding the forgoing, OEMs (i.e., original equipment manufacturers) have sought to develop retractable cup holders which are mounted within the vehicle. One such cup holder includes a tray which is mounted for sliding movement into a recess in the dash board of the vehicle. The tray may include one or more fixed circular apertures into which the beverage container can be received. Another type of OEM cup holder includes a pivoting tray having one or more fired circular apertures into which the beverage container can be received. These trays often pivot from a stored position to a horizontal “use” position in response to the opening of a cover door. The cover often operates as a rest for the bottom of a container received within the aperture of the tray.
As instrument panels have become increasingly crowded with electronic and ventilation equipment, cup holder trays with fixed circular apertures have fallen into disfavor. In an effort to reduce size, numerous assemblies have been developed where one or more retaining forms less than a complete aperture into which the container is received. These retaining members often pivot with respect to a cooperating tray-type member which defines the remaining portion for the container receiving aperture. While being slightly more structurally complicated than fixed ring cup holders, these assemblies allow the cup holder to occupy less space when stored.
Another current trend is to relocate the cup holder assembly from the instrument panel to another portion of the vehicle. Because it is desired to provide a compact cup holder which occupies a minimum amount of storage space, one location which has received considerable attention in the design of cup holders is the center console or fold down arm rest, respectively found in vehicles with bucket seats or split bench seats.
Generally, cup holders found in a center console or arm rest (i.e., center console/arm rest) consist of one of two types. In the first of these types, the cup holder pivots about a horizontal axis from a stored position, located within the center console/arm rest, into a use position where the beverage container can be received in it. Typically, this type of cup holder is used where the center console/arm rest also doubles as a center storage compartment and is provided with a hinged lid. The cup holder portion itself usually only occupies the forward end of the storage compartment.
The second type of center console/arm rest cup holder utilizes a drawer which slides into a recess defined in the center console/arm rest. In order to hold at least two containers, whose combined width is greater than that of a standard sized center console/arm rest, this type of cup holder must include features which will allow those portions of the cup holder which actually define the beverage container receiving apertures to occupy a reduced amount of space when stored in their non-use position. In accomplishing the above, cup holders have been proposed where each aperture which receives and holds a beverage container is defined in part by two elements, one of which is movable relative to the other.
Accordingly, one or more arms are provided so that they will laterally pivot relative to the drawer as the drawer is withdrawn from a recess in the center console/arm rest. Generally, these pivoting arms include a curved portion which cooperates with a curved recess in the drawer so that when the arms are fully extended a beverage container receiving aperture is generally defined by the two. One drawback of this type of design is that since the pivoting arms only define a portion of the beverage container receiving apertures, only one end of each pivoting arm is supported making the entire arm susceptible to instability problems. Another drawback is that these types of cup holders lack the ability to accept a beverage container having a handle, such as a coffee mug.
Because cup holders have become ubiquitous in contemporary automobiles, motorists now expect cup holders to firmly position beverage containers having a veritable plethora of shapes, sizes and materials. Because some beverage containers are conical and others are purely cylindrical, with all being formed from a variety of materials such as paper, plastic, aluminum, or yet other materials, and in configurations small and large, the task of positioning and securing each beverage container variant is complex.
It is desirable to provide an automotive cup holder which is both configuration and size adjustable. In addition to adjustability, it is further desirable to provide a cup holder having lighting to indicate, inter alia, where the cup holder is located, even when a beverage container has been installed into the cup holder.
Cup holders for mounting on the dashboard, door, seats or other convenient locations of an automobile are generally well known. The purpose of these types of holders is simply to retain a beverage container in a conveniently accessible stationary position, thus freeing the hands of the driver and other passengers, and minimizing the possibility of any spillage when the vehicle accelerates, decelerates, goes over bumps or makes abrupt turns. A problem that many vehicle drivers and passengers experience, however, is that their drinks eventually loose or gain heat when left in their holders for any appreciable length of time. Thus, an ice cold soft drink will become lukewarm if mounted on the dashboard of a vehicle driving through the hot summer sum, and a steaming hot coffee will lose its warmth in a vehicle during winter. Since many drinks are unpalatable when consumed at an incorrect temperature, they are often wasted.
Personal electronic devices (PEDs) such as cellular telephones have become increasingly popular, miniaturized and ubiquitous. It has become common for portable cellular telephones to be carried in automobiles for emergency and other use. Moreover, it has become common for people to utilize cellular telephones during operation of the automobile including not only driving stops at traffic lights, but also during motion of the vehicle. As a result, the problem of positioning a cellular telephone or other portable communicator in a position readily available to a vehicle occupant has presented a problem not only of convenience but also safety wherein vehicle occupants can be forced to divert their gaze to grasp a PED.
While new automobile designs have included PEDs positioned on and secured by special holders or cradles on the console or in other fixed positions within convenient reach of a vehicle occupant, many vehicles are not so equipped such that a vehicle occupant can grope for their PED positioned on the seat, floor or the glove compartment. It is accordingly desirable to be able to retrofit passenger vehicles with a stationary holder for a PED positioned within easy reach of an occupant and which provides a positive holding force to the PED in the holder. It is important that each occupant be able to retrieve and reposition the PED in the holder without diverting their attention.
A vehicle with an open top bed, such as employed with pick-up trucks, often incorporate tonneau covers of varying types. One such tonneau cover type comprises a one-piece rigid (e.g. metal or fiberglass) lid attached to the bed by an elongated piano-type hinge extending along either one of the lateral end edges or one of the longitudinal side edges of the tonneau cover. A second such tonneau cover type comprises a plurality of discrete rigid cover segments serially interconnected by elongated piano-type hinges which can be folded into a stacked configuration. A third such tonneau cover type comprises a flexible (e.g., vinyl or canvas) one-piece tarp releasably secured to the perimeter of the bed by releasable straps, snaps or Velcro members to provide access to the bed. A fourth such tonneau cover type comprises a flexible (e.g., vinyl) one-piece tarp secured to a scissors-type support structure which opens and closes in an accordion fashion.
It is desirable to provide an automotive cup holder within the open top bed of such a vehicle employed for commercial, camping or other off-road applications when one or more passengers are seated within the bed for extended periods.
Therefore, a need exists for a new and useful automotive cup holder which overcomes the problems of the prior art.